Ileana D’Cruz will not admit that she has married long time beau Andrew Kneebone; says she’d love to bring Uzma Ahmed’s story to the screen
Shravan Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 24, 2018)

What are you doing in a film on an income tax raid with Ajay Devgn in the lead?
Even though the film is about the raid with Ajay (Devgn) as an income tax officer, I do have a pivotal role. I admit, in terms of footage, it’s not large, but it’s an interesting part of the film. My character is not a demure biwi from the ’80s, she is sensible, speaks her mind and is the quite a force behind him. The equation between them comes out in the songs and in the emotional scenes where you realise she is worried for him yet tries to put up a brave front.

Buzz is, after Baadshaho and Raid, another Ileana-Ajay collaboration is on the cards?
There’s no plan as of now, but I’d love to work with Ajay again because he’s been doing a lot of content-driven films and is a nice, positive person to hang out with. On the sets, he was always chatting with his daughter (Nysa) or son (Yug) and since I was invariably listening in, I now feel I know his whole family.

Talking of family, what was your photographer beau Andrew Kneebone’s reaction to the Raid trailer?
(Laughs) He hasn’t seen it yet.

A lot has been written about your relationship and now it’s being said you are married. On Christmas you posted a picture of yourself and mentioned that it was taken by ‘hubby’.
It’s exactly what you see. What’s great about the social media is that I can let people in to an extent but I don’t like talking about my past… How the relationship started and where… in interviews. It’s too personal. I won’t hide it and I won’t deny it. Everything is out there for everyone to see, don’t ask me too many questions about it. I’ll tell you what I want to tell you. Period.

So is Ileana D’Cruz married?
(Laughs) Like I said, everything is out there, I don’t need to answer your question.

Any chances of Andrew becoming a Bollywood cinematographer or a glamour photographer?
I don’t know, I’ve never asked him. That would be a really big move but I also know that he is someone who would love to do something like that. He’s taken some really cool pictures of Varun (Dhawan) and Alia (Bhatt) on a flight, Ranveer (Singh) and Salman (Khan) during a show I did with them. He’s great with photos but him moving here and making a career in Bollywood is something only Andrew can answer. I think he’ll totally be up for it!

Does he watch your films and give you feedback?
He does and is amazingly honest. He spoils me with his compliments. He’s like, “You’re such an amazing actor, you’re really good!” and I’m like, “You don’t have to say that just because you love me.” But I think he really means it and it means a lot to me because I know he is someone who will never lie even to me. Sometimes, I’m really upset if a film hasn’t done well and he’ll watch it and tell me what he felt was wrong. It matters to me what he thinks.

Your Bollywood debut with Barfi! got you nationwide recognition but after that your career has seen a series of highs and lows. Do you ever sit down and analyse it?
Of course I do, I go a little cuckoo in the head because I over-analyse. At times, I go through all the films that I said “no” to and if they have done well; I ask myself if I should have done them. But later, I’m happy with what I have done. It is a nice mix of different films that I’m proud of and always wanted to do. Very rarely do you get what you actually want in the film industry.

Are you getting what you really want to do?
Not right now and that is why I haven’t signed a film in a while and am waiting for the right offers. In all these years, in Bollywood and down South, I’ve done so many different kinds of films that now I don’t want to do just anything anymore. I’m looking for a content driven script that will really push me and take me into an unexplored territory. Possibly something heroine-centric, something that people wouldn’t expect me to do.

Like a biopic?
If it challenges me as an actor, I’d like that.

Buzz is, you’ve been approached to play Uzma Ahmed? The Indian National who was forced to marry a Pakistani with four children at gunpoint and sexually assualted before she fled to the Indian high commission in Pakistan and after appealing to Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and a brief but traumatic legal battle, she was brought back to India.
Yes, I’ve been approached for that. I wasn’t going to say anything about the offer because I am very superstitious but the director spoke about it. I had a lovely meeting with them, it is a brilliant story but I think it will take a while for it to take off and it would be unethical of me to talk about it when nothing has been finalised. So all I want to say is that Uzma is an unbelievable woman, her story needs to be told and I’d love to do that film.

Any films down South?
Thanks to some rubbish that came out recently, people believe I don’t like the South Indian industry, which is untrue. I was quoted saying that I was working only for the money which is just a fraction of what I said. I was 18 when I did my first film and it was all about earning a lot of money then. But later, I realised that I wasn’t giving the job my 100 per cent and slowly started giving my inputs and that’s when I fell in love with my work. The industry down South had a lot of faith in me and if I go back, it will have to be a really good film. There have been some offers, but nothing great.

Any Hollywood offers?
I did get a few actually. One was quite interesting and even I met with the casting director but things didn’t work out. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t do it because although it had a great cast, the film didn’t do well. But I would like to do a Hollywood film someday.